High-end graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD were expensive in 2020 (if you could find them), but their prices are only going up. And you can thank the government for that.
As of December 31, 2020, GPUs and motherboards are now included in the tariffs that the Trump administration has imposed on Chinese imports. These PC components were previously exempt from such tariffs, but these exceptions expired in late 2020 and no extensions were applied. This means that prices have increased by up to 25% for next-generation GPUs – including Nvidia’s new RTX 3090, 3080, 3070 and 3060 Ti and AMD’s RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT.
The latest GPUs from Nvidia and AMD were almost impossible to buy in 2020 to begin with, as COVID-19 affected manufacturing and supply chains, leading to more limited products, even available for purchase. And retailers usually sold everything in seconds whenever they refueled, thanks to money changers and cryptocurrency miners who used bots to buy as many graphics cards as possible.
The shopping experience was bad enough that many retailers have implemented anti-bot tactics like waiting lists, more aggressive human verification systems and strict limits on how many GPUs customers can buy. However, these tariffs will only make the process more difficult – and expensive –if you’re lucky enough to win a card.
Tariffs don’t just affect GPUs; SSDs, CPUs, power supply units and other PC components can experience price increases of seven and 25%, depending on the price. Like Tom’s hardware notes, the price increase for these will probably not be as severe as the increase for GPUs, but if you are buying or building a new PC, or upgrading several pieces of existing equipment, you will definitely notice the difference.
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Our best advice for anyone looking to build or upgrade their PC is to buy wisely and carefully. You can’t avoid price increases, but you don’t have to buy one scalped Overpriced GPU on eBay or Facebook Marketplace just because they are available.
Features like VideoCardz.com, GPUBoss, Reddit (r / GPU, r / GraphicsCards, r / nvidia, r / amd), Google Shopping Guide, and even Discord Communities can help you compare specifications and prices and find available stock. At some point, video card quantities will stabilize (hopefully) and buying a new video card from a legitimate reseller in the normal MSRP will be easier – even if the GPU costs more than it cost at launch.
It is also possible that new cheaper GPUs will be launched or that they will reduce the price of current high-end models. In fact, Nvidia has a press conference tomorrow and it is rumored that more GPUs will be announced. At the very least, having more templates to choose from can increase your chances of buying the card you want. Until then, buy smart, but be prepared to pay a little more because of the policy; if you can wait until we can see what a Democratic-led government does about tariffs, if anything, it might be worth doing.